Bhikkhu Nyanasobhano writes, “Buddhism teaches that human beings are imperfect yet may become perfect by their own exertions, as long as those exertions are directed along the Noble Eightfold Path (page 89).”[1] I’ve shared this information with you in other blogs and other workbooks but it is always worth repeating especially in the times in which we are living!

So, what does it mean to be “right” and “honerable” anyway?

When you and I are in a conversation and we take different sides of a discussion or work process or relationship we will both believe that what we said, did, or expected was right, honest, and true. And yet you may have experienced the same thing and saw it in a completely different light. So where does honor come in this situation?

Bhikkhu goes on to write, “While everybody professes belief in ethical behavior, such belief likely amounts to very little unless backed by practical judgment, reverence for moral precepts, and a sense of honor (page 90).”[2] Unfortunately, we don’t hear much about “a sense of honor” these days. Do we even know what that means? A man or woman who demonstrates honor is fair, truthful, trustworthy, and embodies integrity in their words and deeds. You can depend upon them to be there when you need them, to standup for you when you are not around, and always do the “right” thing at the right time. Whatever that “right thing” may be at the time will be specific to the event in the moment in which it occurs.

It is often difficult to live a life of honor especially in our jobs and our relationships. However, as a Buddhist it is our obligation to do so no matter how “hard” it may be. To uphold the Eightfold Path can be a challenge for sure; however, it is imperative to do so as it upholds our teachings and our way of life. Bhikkhu goes on to write, “To live a life of honor is to examine and to act on the basis of timeless Dhamma [Dharma], which is universally beneficial and altogether superior to the rationalizations of the day (page 93).”[3] Day in and day out we rationalize our words and actions. We find excuses for them by the jar full. We try as hard as we can to “make them right.” I don’t know about you but I always have to be “right.” Even when I’m not right! But doing so takes me away from a life of honor.

In closing Bhikkhu writes, “The Buddha teaches us that our own deeds will be our inheritance and our refuge. They should therefore be such that we can live on and die on with a tranquil mind. By raising up a sense of honor we begin to lift our ideals and the trend of our habitual conduct from the level of perishing material to the higher, finer plane where the holy ones have stood—and where we too might someday stand (page 101).”[4]

Meet me there—won’t you?!

[1] Picture taken from Bodhi Television http://bodhitv.tv/article/171029a/

Diane Ackerman in her book An Alchemy of Mind, The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain writes, “The brain is not the mind, the mind inhabits the brain (page 4).”[1]

Shibayama writes, “The Mind here does not refer to thought or emotion, nor does it refer to human psychology which is an object of scientific research. It is not the consciousness, nor the psyche which is dealt with by psychiatrists, either. When we go beyond all these, wash them off, and transcend their limitations, for the first time we can reach the Mind which is also called the Buddha Mind, the Absolute Mind, the Spirituality, or the truth (page 26).”[2]

And so, when we mediate we give ourselves the opportunity to transcend our human thoughts that we created through study, reading, our culture, and experiences and move into touching the greater Mind.

He shares a story about Zen Master Sekito who was training a monk and while walking through the forest they came across a dense thicket that they could not walk through. The student asked Sekito for the knife. “Sekito unsheathed his big mountain knife, and without a word thrust out the knife with the sharp edge toward him. The companion was frightened, and withdrew his hand crying, “Stop the nonsense! Let me have the hilt.” Sekito’s reply was sharper than the edge of the knife. He said, “What is the use of the hilt? The monk could not utter a word in reply (page 26-27).”[3]

Shibayama finishes by writing, “We are apt to stick to the hilt which is of secondary importance, and miss the Truth altogether. Sekito is urging us to get hold of the fundamental Truth direct. Here we see the truth of direct pointing (page 27).” It is the blade that does the work that cuts through our wrong thinking and fears and anxieties. Remember the axiom, “The truth will set you free.” Where is your freedom? Hidden in a job, an education, a scripture, a political party, or religion?

Then there is the power of meditation. Each day as you take the opportunity to sit and calm the “monkey mind” you’ll find that soon you’ll be able to transcend the brain/mind and tap in to the greater mind, the Buddha Mind, the Absolute Mind. And when you do you’ll discover who you really are and you will experience the power and peace that has always been within reach when you make that direct connection.

Which mind are you pointing to?

[1] Ackerman, D. (2004) An Alchemy of Mind The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain. Scribner: NY

Yuanwu writes, “You must not cling to wrong knowledge and wrong views. You must not mix poison into your food. You must be uniformly pure and true and clean and wondrously illuminated to step directly into the scenery of the fundamental ground and reach the peaceful and secure stage of great liberation (page 24).[1]

From the day we were born we began learning. We learned good and bad things, right and wrong things, true and false things. We began adding poison into our lives, thoughts, and relationships when we followed the path of fear, anger, lack, and limitation. Food is angulose to our thoughts and actions here. This is true in your life and mine.

How are those thoughts and actions affecting your life? Is your life filled with wonder, peace, security, and liberation? Or is it filled with old habits, fears, anger, and pain? Are you poisoning your mind, body, and spirt or filling it with goodness? Remember it is all up to you.

I would equate “wrong knowledge and wrong view” to anything that is hurting and/or hindering me. Or negatively affecting the lives of those around me from family, friends, strangers on the street, and co-workers. When the expression on a person’s face is wide eyed and filled with fear, or tears are welling up in them (and not from laughter), or their eyes are focused on the ground—that is because the words you were “feeding them” were poisonous. Each time you feed them this poison you damage your relationship with them and you damage their level of self-worth and self-esteem. Thus, they end up believing those things and begin to poison themselves and others even after you are long gone.

That is why Yuanwu says, “You must not cling to wrong knowledge and wrong views.” That may seem hard if you were brought up with the “wrong knowledge” and you should not punish yourself for the “sins of others.” There is a recipe for curing this circle of pain and suffering. Simply do not mix poison into your food [thoughts/words/deeds]. When you catch yourself doing it immediately adjust your thoughts and actions. Remove the poison and replace it with love, compassion, and peace for yourself and others.

It may not be easy at first to undo the pains that you have been feeling for years, but all things are possible for those who wish to live a different life–who wish to live a life filled with loving friends, peace, and happiness.

If you saw someone picking up a can of lye you would run toward them screaming NO- NO-NO don’t drink that! How about for us NO-NO-NO don’t THINK that! Changing your thoughts will change your actions which will change your life for the good and the food you will be eating will be filled with love, peace, and compassion and your life will be transformed.

Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha): “Do not believe in anything because it is found written in your religious books.

The Rigveda is an ancient Indian text one of the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism written between the 5th and 2nd century BCE, the first four books of the Bible Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers were written between the 6th and 2nd century BCE, the Tao Te Ching in the 6th century BCE, the Buddhist Sutras between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, the New Testament in the 1st century CE, the Qur’an is the newest written around 632 CE. Wow! If you can remember all of that you’re better than I am!

What’s my point? The people who wrote these books were wonderful people who wanted to memorialize their beliefs and experiences for those who would come after them. They were trying to explain, nature, birth, death, life, good and evil and more. Science was not at the level it is today, they only had their eyes, ears, nose, and sometimes mouth to discover and memorialize their lives and how they dealt with what happened to them and in them in their waking and sleeping hours.

This is neither good nor bad—it just is. Thus if saying a bed time prayer will help keep you alive through the night—great what can you lose! If not eating meat is how you desire to live your life wonderful, go for it. If eating meat but not pork or crustaceans (lobster, crabs, shrimp, etc.) is your choice that’s great too. In ancient times you might have been better off not eating pork because it caused an infection we know as trichinosis, but so did lots of other foods. Just a few more reasons “not to believe” everything found in your ancient texts.

My mom believed it about the pork and thus when we had pork chops for dinner they were so well done they tasted and acted like shoe leather! That was one of the nights I always found a reason to eat at my best friend’s house for dinner. Another time I bought some “free range chicken” and served it to her for supper. I was bragging about how great they were and that all the chickens should be freed. Once again mom told me a “farm story.” “I fed plenty of chickens on the farm growing up and let me tell you they ate anything and everything in sight, at least this way their waste ends up far enough away that they can’t get at it.” You’ve got to love my mom!

So in this day and age with our education, science, technology, the internet, and more you have the opportunity to be your own researcher and discover about life for yourself. If following your religious and family traditions is important in your life…go for it. Just remember that not everything written in them is true…then move full speed ahead and live the life that works for you and spreads peace, love, and compassion wherever you go!

Emerson: “Place yourself in the middle of the stream of power and wisdom which animates all whom it floats, and you are without effort impelled to truth, to right, and a perfect contentment.”[1]

Zen Ajahn Brahm: “Contentment is the opposite of a faultfinding mind. You should develop the perception of contentment with whatever you have, wherever you are, as much as you can (page 44).”[2]

Wow! What a concept! In America we find ourselves often in a place where contentment seems impossible. Especially during times like Christmas. From the time we are very little until we die we make lists all year long asking for the newest toy on TV or the bike like your best friend has, or a new car like the neighbor down the street just got. We long for material things and money and trips and more.

When was the last time you were content with what you had? When was the last time you spent time in meditation and prayer where your mind was not drug off into thoughts of discontent? Discontent with your relationships, your job, your income, with your health, or the world in general.

Don’t get me wrong there are a lot of people in need all over the world. In need of food, shelter, and safety from floods and bombs and more. And we should do all we can to help them from supporting peace not war, supporting food banks, homeless shelters, veteran’s benefits, and more. However, we must start with ourselves and our own consciousness. Start with the little things and work your way up to the big things! If you need to lose weight and you create a plan to do so celebrate even the smallest improvement be it losing three pounds, exercising three days in a row, or changing your diet to healthier foods this week.

Be open to “baby steps—baby steps” as Dr. Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfuss) told his patient Bob Wiley (Bill Murry) in the movie “What about Bob.” Find contentment in the little things wherever you can—whenever you can. Longing for things that are out of reach makes you discontented with life and robs you of your contentment and your peace and joy in the present moment. It doesn’t matter whether that discontentment is about things, places, or people.

We attract what we think about the most. So if you want peace meditate and focus on peace and like a magnet you will draw it to you! Remember contentment is hiding within it! If you want better health, or a different more fulfilling job, or a new relationship do the same and watch what happens! Open your mind to receive your good by placing yourself in the middle of contentment!

The Dalai Lama: Patience cannot be cultivated in isolation from other people.[2]

As students of Buddhism we are given the opportunity in the West to practice as lay people and live at home, go to work, run our errands, raise our families, take care of our elderly parents, and more. Each of which can cause us to—as they say “lose our patience” very easily.

When things don’t go my way, or I encounter people who don’t think like me, or talk fast enough, or clean up after themselves I lose my patience. Thus I am given hundreds of opportunities each and every day to cultivate the principle of patience.

I suppose if I were like the Buddhist monks of old who found a cave at the top of a mountain and simply spent all day meditating and looking at a wall with the only interruption being a small curious animal that might arrive and stare in wonderment at the person sitting facing the wall—what would I have gained in the way of patience? Other then maybe cultivating the patience to reach my goal of “enlightenment” and being inpatient about its arrival.

So let’s try Emerson’s way to cultivate the art of patience by looking at nature. Spring has the patience to wait until winter has decided to be done. Summer has the patience to wait until fall arrives to begin its nap and get some rest. The tulips have the patience to wait till the ground thaws just enough so they can begin pushing their way up through the earth and reach the sunlight. The beauty that comes from the tulips in your garden makes the process and the time so worthwhile for those of us who have the patience to wait for their arrival and don’t run off to the flower shop to buy some there instead.

And so when we sit and meditate we are given the opportunity to practice patience. Patience with our body as it aches, or with our Monkey Mind as it keeps interrupting, and our breath as it moves slower and deeper the longer we sit. It is a great place to practice and cultivate patience. With no judgment of right or wrong, good or bad, simply as they say: Waiting for Godot.

What situations in your life are arriving to help you develop and sustain patience in your life? If we let them they can bring us great pain, suffering, anger, and annoyance. Or we can enjoy the journey, allow the journey to reveal its “secrets” in its own time and be open to receive its gifts with joy and at nature’s perfect timing.

Emerson: “There is no planet, sun or star could hold you if you but knew what you are.”

Shodo Harada Roshi in his beautiful book, Moon By The Window, wrote:

“In a dualistic world we will fumble and fall. When we see with the eyes of the Buddha, we know the joy of the Dharma [teachings] in daily life. We become one with the heavens and earth, and there is no longer any division between inside and outside (page 169).”[1]

We are made up of stars and light and when we use the talent, energy, compassion, and love of which we were born all things are possible. We have sent spaceships to Mars, found cures for diseases that in the past had destroyed civilizations, we have created music, and dance, and poetry, and literature that has moved millions. It is possible to be one with each of these things as we travel through life on planet Earth. I know because I have done it at a Cherokee Indian Fire Walk with Unity Minister Edwene Gaines on a dark night in an Alabama forest during one of her workshops

That is who we are. That is what we are. Shodo Harada Roshi goes on to write, “We have to throw away our small way of thinking and live in a place where we hold on to nothing whatsoever. It’s here that we discover the Buddha, and there is nothing sturdier than the strength that comes from this discovery. The Buddha discovered that he was a part of the “all” as he awoke under the Bodai tree and taught us that through our direct experience we could realize that as well (page 169).”

As Louise Howard and Chris Riddell illustrate in their book Buddhism for Sheep: “Train your mind it is the source of everything.”[2] As we sit in zazen (meditation) we are training our minds to “throw away our small way of thinking and to hold on to nothing.” Then and only then can we know what we are—a piece of the heavens and the earth.

As Emerson said, “know what you are.” Sheep or not sheep…that is the question.